smartphone

What’s the Safest Way to Lock Your Smartphone?

2020-02-24 by Michelle Dvorak

Biometric, PIN, or Password – What’s the Safest Way to Lock Your Smartphone? It Starts with the Realization that You Need to Secure a Phone

The safest way to lock your smartphone starts with the realization that you actually need to secure your electronic devices. The best way to lock your smartphone isn’t just to keep your spouse or parents from spying, but also to protect your money and messages in the event your phone is lost or hacked.

Our phones are devices we use daily if not hourly. Phones and the apps installed on them, contain personal photos, videos, logins to our bank accounts, and saved passwords. Many mobile devices are synced with our computers or laptops at home so if a phone was hacked a lot of personal information could be stolen.

Using no log-in protection at all is obviously the worst thing to do and does not protect your smartphone at all. Anyone can pick up your phone and start using it.

Biometric login is one of the safest ways to lock your smartphone. With biometric login, your body is the password. Fingerprint scans, facial recognition, and eye scans are all forms of biometric login. While using biometrics is definitely more secure than using a swipe or password there are differences in safety and security for each method.

Fingerprint scans are a type of biometric login that can secure your phone and any app that can also access the fingerprints stored on your phone. To start using fingerprints as a way to authenticate login credentials, you’ll have to scan fingerprints from each hand. If you don’t have a newer mobile device or laptop that support fingerprint scans, then consider upgrading to a new phone or new laptop that does.

Fingerprint scans are not perfect though, and like facial recognition, sometimes simple means has defeated fingerprints.

Facial Recognition

Facial recognition is at the top of privacy concerns lately as it adds a layer of security but imposes upon people’s privacy. Often people don’t know (because they were never informed) that their faces are being scanned and analyzed. Their images are being recorded and data about them stored in databases shared by police agencies.

The US Department of Homeland Security uses facial recognition as a way to positively identify people at airports and allow them to use their facial scans as boarding passes and security clearance. But there are different levels of facial recognition, quality of cameras, and capability of the software that analyses people’s faces. The facial recognition app used to lock your smartphone is nowhere near the advanced technology used by border agents at airports and bridges.

If you use a mobile wallet to pay for purchases online or in stores, your eWallet (mobile digital wallet) may require that you use either facial recognition or a fingerprint scans to secure your device. An eWallet like Apple Pay or Samsung Pay must be secured with biometrics to protect the payment information on them.

Mobile wallets are a superior way to protect your money at pay at point-of-sale terminals. The merchant does not ever see or receive your full payment card numbers which makes transactions more secure for shoppers. The transaction is authorized with a one-use token which protects money from fraudsters. A PIN, password, or swipe are not secure enough and not accepted as a form of authentication by many eWallets.

Authenticator App

An authenticator app like Google Authenticator stores a passcode or token associated with the device or app on your phone. When you use any authenticator app, after you log in with your usual username and password, you will be asked to check for a code listed in the authenticator app. The authenticator supplies one-third of the credential needed to login to the device. Of course, your phone, tablet, laptop, or app must support using an Authenticator app.

Swipe Patterns

Swiping is one of the least safe ways to lock your smartphone. After all, there are only nine digits on a smartphone keypad so there are only so many combinations for a swipe unlock pattern. All combinations can be calculated with a simple spreadsheet. The majority of swipe combinations begin in the upper left-hand corner, making it even easier to take guesses at what combination will unlock any phone. Making swiping as a way to lock your smartphone even less secure is a fact that if anyone in visual range of your phone may see the swipe pattern. It’s pretty easy to repeat it.

Password Guessing

Passwords are a reasonably safe way to lock a smartphone as long as the password is difficult to guess and unique to that device. The majority of people reuse passwords on at least one or more device or online account. That means if a hacker is able to gain access to one of your passwords, that information may likely unlock login credentials to a variety of other apps or devices connected to the same user.

Each year a list of the top one hundred thousand most common passwords is published. It never fails that extremely simple passwords like password123 and consecutive numbers make the list of common passwords. Hackers use online collections of dictionary words, common passwords, sports teams, cities, bands, and favorite foods and use them to brute force their way into online accounts using computer code.

That’s why it’s important to generate a unique and super strong password for every device and online account. If you can’t remember a unique password for each device and app (most of us can’t) then use a password generator and password vault to create strong passwords and remember them for you.

Two-Factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication, or 2FA, requires a second form of login information to gain access to a device or an app. An example of using 2FA to lock a laptop would be requiring the insertion of a key fob into a laptop USB port after the password is entered. To safely lock a smartphone using 2FA would require a fingerprint scan and a password or some other combination up to factors.

Using 2FA offers a safe way to lock down a smartphone. However, it doesn’t guarantee that the person logging in is the actual authorized device user.

Multi Factor Authentication

Multi-factor Authentication is a safe way to lock your phone and uses the same methodology as two-factor authentication but adds one or more steps requirements to the login process. For example, multi-factor authentication may have to use a fingerprint scan, a password, and an authenticator to gain access to a device. It doesn’t necessarily matter which form of authentication is used. To make it the safest way to lock your smartphone, a combination of facial recognition, fingerprint scanning, and an authenticator app can lock the phone securely.

Michelle Dvorak

Michelle writes about cyber security, data privacy focusing on social media privacy as well as how to protect your IoT devices. She She has worked in internet technology for over 20 years and owns METRONY, LLC. Michelle earned a B.S. in Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Michelle published a guide to Cyber Security for Business Travelers

www.metrony.com/

How to Delete Apps on Android Devices

2020-01-13 by Michelle Dvorak

How to Delete Apps on Android Devices – Keep Your Phone Secure – Free Up Storage Space. Here’s How to Delete Apps on Android Operating Systems

You’ll need to delete apps on your Android device if you find that you’re running out of operating system memory or storage space in your onboard storage or SIM card. It may that your suspect your phone is hacked becuase it makes strange sounds or your phone is too slow. You should also delete apps that are no longer used. Apps that are not updated with the latest version can present cyber security risks and leave a phone vulnerable to hacking or malware. Apps can use up a lot of storage space including memory cache and data. They use up system resources many of them run in the background using up wireless data. With so many free apps available on Android play store you may find that you simply don’t have enough room on your Android phone and need to delete apps.

How Do I Completely Remove an App from Android?
How to Delete One App at A Time on Android
How to Delete Multiple Apps on Android
How to Delete Apps on Samsung Smart TV
What to Do If Your Motor Skills Make it Difficult to Delete an App

Delete apps like digital media like music, magazines, books, films and television shows to save space and make room other things on your phone. Spotify, Netflix, and Hulu all consume space with large media file downloads saved for offline viewing. With the majority of Android Play store apps being free, it’s no winder that users need to delete apps to save space to remove unwanted or unused apps.

According to Statistica, at the end of December 2019, the number of Android Play Store apps was approximately 2.9 million apps. Google Play was launched as Android Market in the last quarter of 2008 and grew to one million apps by mid-2013. Candy Crush Saga, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, WeChat, Snapchat, and Skype are some of the most popular apps.

Open the Google Play Store app on your phone, tablet, or laptop and go to the app page in question. Every app has a short description and the name of the developer. Check the current version of the app before deleting it.

How to Get the App Version Number on Android

Open Google Play
At the bottom of the screen, tap Apps
Scroll through your list of previously installed apps and select the app you want to know more information about. The last version release date is listed
Tap What’s new to find the version number and information about new features
Scroll down to the bottom of the screen
The app version number, latest update date, original release date, and number of downloads is listed in the bottom

Android Apps Cannot be Deleted Sometimes

Many apps are annoyingly preinstalled on Android phones and cannot be deleted. Many of the preinstalled apps are added by wireless carriers or device manufacturers and are known as bloatware. These are apps like Amazon, games, or Samsung Health, Verizon Voicemail that may or may not be unwanted. Nevertheless, they cannot be uninstalled unless the phone is rooted. But they can be disabled. Even if you cannot remove an app, you can clear the cached memory and disable them which forces the app to stop running.

If you are going to disable rather than delete an app, make sure it is not something that is essential for the operating system to run or something that you actually need. For example, if you are disabling location services, then realize that Google Maps won’t be able to give your directions.

How Do I Completely Remove an App from Android?

How to Completely Remove an App from Android
To delete apps that you don’t intend to reinstall you should clear the data and storage used by the app to free up more space. This ensures that space on your phone is freed up for other apps, videos, or images. If you’re just deleting the app temporarily then you can probably skip this step.

Tap the Settings icon on your Android Phone
Scroll down the list and tap Apps
Scroll down the list of installed apps and find the app that you want to delete
Tap the app name
Tap Storage and tap CLEAR DATA
Then tap CLEAR CACHE
Back up one screen and tap UNINSTALL

Repeat these steps for each when you delete apps.

Screenshot Snapchat App Google Play Store

How to Delete One App at A Time on Android

How to Delete One App at A Time on Android
To delete apps one at a time, you can either locate the app on the screen and delete it quickly by long pressing and choosing uninstall. But what you should really do first is clear the memory and data cache used by the app before uninstalling it. If you don’t do first, data remains on your phone and takes up valuable space preventing other apps from using it. Follow these steps above before permanently deleting any app.

Tap the Settings icon on your Android Phone
Scroll down the list and tap Apps
Scroll down the list of installed apps and find the app that you want to delete
Tap the app name
Tap Storage and tap CLEAR DATA
Then tap CLEAR CACHE

From this screen, you can back up one screen and tap UNINSTALL.

Alternatively, to delete apps from any Screen

Locate the app on any screen on your phone
Long press and hold the app icon
Tap uninstall

If the app cannot be deleted because it is bloatware, then tap disable

How to Delete Apps on Android

How to Delete Multiple Apps on Android
If you need to delete apps because you are resetting it with factory settings, cleaning up data because your phone was hacked, or maybe you’re trying to wipe your phone because you’re going to upgrade to a new phone or giving it to someone. It’s a lot faster to delete apps all at once.

Tap the hamburger menu icon (three horizontal lines in the upper left corner of the screen)
At the top of the list tap My apps & games
Select Installed
Tap Storage
To delete apps, Select the checkboxes next to the names of the apps to remove
A green bar at the bottom of the screen will display how much space will be regained. It will say something like ”Free Up XX MB”

When you have selected all the apps to delete, tap the green bar to remove.

How to Delete Apps on Samsung Smart TV

How to Delete Apps on Samsung Smart TV
Samsung Smart TVs have another version of the Android operating systme, but deleting apps is similar. Ininstalling an app is just as easy as on any other Android device.

Power On your Samsung Smart TV
Using the remote control, tap the home button
Navigate to the left side of the TV screen to the hamburger menu
Tap apps
You’ll see a list of apps installed on the TV scrolling horizontally across the screen
Navigate to the app to delete
With the remote, scroll down and select Delete

Some apps won’t be able to be uninstalled to keep your smart TV operating properly. Samsung is also notorious for recording data and viewing habts of television users to sell to advertiers. Some apps cannot be deleted because of Terms of Service agreements with Samsung.

What to Do If Your Motor Skills Make it Difficult to Delete Apps

What to Do If Your Motor Skills Make it Difficult to Delete Apps
If you’re unable to perform the gestures needed to delete apps successfully, then users can make interface adjustments to change the time needed to long press icons. Phone touches have default settings from short hold (which is .5 seconds) to long hold which is (1.5 seconds.) Alternatively, users can set a custom duration by tapping custom and then holding down the screen as long as they feel comfortable. This will help users to delete apps and with all interactions on the phone.

Launch the Settings app
Tap Accessibilty
Tap Dexterity and Interaction
Tap Touch and hold delay to adjust the duration of how long you need to hold down an app icon

How to Move an App on Your Android Home screen

Apps can be moved to and from your Android home screen or to other screens to keep them organized and easy to find. For example, I have my apps organized by productivity apps, social media, messaging apps, entertainment, and travel. That way when I’m in an airport I can easily find my airline app and get flight status updates.

Move and Organize App Icons

Locate the app on any screen on your phone
Long press and hold the app icon
While holding, drag the app to the screen you want to move the app to

Michelle Dvorak

www.metrony.com/

New Gustuff Malware Steals Money from Banking Apps

2019-04-02 by Michelle Dvorak

Gustuff Android Malware Attacks Banking and Cryptocurrecny Apps

A new malware, Gustuff, is spreading across Android phones and phishing for financial credentials from banking and cryptocurrency apps. Trojan horse malware Gustuff infects Android devices and impersonates baking apps to steal money from unsuspecting users. So far, the malware targets 100 banks and 32 cryptocurrency apps. It also uses the phone’s contact list and messaging apps to infect more devices. The malware was discovered by Russian cybersecurity firm Group IB.

Gustuff malware phishes account credentials and creates fraudulent bank transactions by impersonating over 100 banking apps and 32 cryptocurrency apps. Banks targeted by the malware include Bank of America, Bank of Scotland, J.P.Morgan, Wells Fargo, Capital One, TD Bank, and PNC Bank. Cryptocurrency apps are not immune to this malware. Thirty-two cryptocurrency apps are also targeted by Gustuff including BitPay, Cryptopay, Coinbase, and Bitcoin Wallet. The malware also hacks other Android payment and messaging apps including PayPal, Western Union, eBay, Walmart, Skype, WhatsApp, Gett Taxi, Revolut as well as others.

The malware is spread through app download sites, unofficial marketplaces, and via text messages. As soon as a new device is infected, the malware uses the contact list to infect other devices.

The malware can also rest the phone back to factory settings.

Gustuff Malware Steals Money from Apps

Gustuff malware uses SMS messages as part of a social engineering attack to infect more devices. Once infected it tricks the device owner into giving it permission to use the phone’s Android Accessibility service and gives itself admin rights. These Accessibility services are an aid intended for use by people with disabilities. The accessibility features automate various screen interactions and tap screen choices on the user’s behalf.

“Using the Accessibility Service mechanism means that the Trojan is able to bypass security measures used by banks to protect against older generation of mobile Trojans and changes to Google’s security policy introduced in new versions of the Android OS,” said Group-IB. “Moreover, Gustuff knows how to turn off Google Protect; according to the Trojan’s developer, this feature works in 70 percent of cases.”

The malware then shows fake login pages on top of other legitimate apps. It can autofill fields in legitimate banking apps with its own data during normal use. For example, a transfer can be directed to another bank Account or cryptocurrency wallet.

The trojan malware can send push notifications to the device and impersonate any app. When the user selects the fake app, Gustuff opens a spoofed web page that phishes the login credentials. In other cases, when the user opens the legitimate app, the malware autofills the transaction information and uses the Accessibility service to automatically approve a money transfer to the hacker’s financial account.

How Gustuff Malware Infects Phones

Gustuff malware uses web fakes which are fraudulent copies of real apps created by hackers to emulate the real apps. The spoofed web fakes look identical to their legitimate counterparts. Users are fooled into using the fake app because it looks just like their real banking app. When they enter their usernames and passwords, the information is stolen by the malware and sent to hackers.

Banking apps for major organizations like J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America are targeted by this malware and its web fakes. Twenty-seven apps targeted at US users were discovered. In addition, 16 apps specific to Poland, ten targeted at Australian users, nine for Germany, and eight in India are also spreading. Gustuff malware also spoofs payment apps PayPal, Revolut, and Western Union. Shopping apps eBay and Walmart as well as messaging apps Skype, and WhatsApp are also targeted. In total, there are over 100 spoofed apps in use by Gustuff malware.

How to Stop Malware

The best way to protect your devices from hackers is to only download apps from official app stores like Google Play or the iTunes store. Do not click on any suspicious links in emails or messages, even if they are from people you know. Malware messages originate from a friend’s infected phone and will appear legitimate.

Michelle Dvorak

www.metrony.com/

How Your Phone Tracks You

2018-12-27 by Michelle Dvorak

Your Smartphone Tracks Your Every Move

Smartphones are excellent at making your life easier. They are also a superb tool for tracking us as we take them everywhere we go. They supply us with information on where to eat and shop. But they are not just gathering information for you, they are collecting data about you and sending it off to the hardware manufacturer, apps, and advertisers. Your smartphone monitors and stores all kinds of information about your habits, behaviors, and preferences. It even tracks your purchases and location. It goes on all the time.

It is important to understand what data is being tracked about you and especially who it is being shared with. You may find that you need to remove apps or change permissions for apps on your phone. Sometimes you may want to change hardware for something less intrusive.

Your smartphone, laptop, and tablet are all capable of syncing information across devices. This cross-device tracking is a real boon for advertisers. They can then see how effective their advertising e-commerce campaigns are. It is common for shoppers to view a product on one device, but buy it alter a consideration phase. Cookies and tracking pixels enable apps and advertisers to understand user preferences and spending behavior.

Google and Google Owned Apps

Google Chrome is the Google web browser. Whether you log into your Google account or not, Chrome web browser is tracking your every move. Google also owns a few other apps you most likely know about. YouTube, the Google Play Store, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Docs and Drive all share the same login credentials. Your actions are tracked across each one to build a valuable portfolio of your data. Google logs your location, phone calls, the device type and more. Chrome logs what website you visited. If you are logged into a Google account using another browser, it tracks that data too.

For example, if you read your Gmail from the Firefox web browser, Google continues to collect data about you. If you log into any of Google apps from multiple devices, then you are supplying even more data about everything from purchases to restaurants visited. All of this data is used by advertisers and is Google’s main source of income.

Google does offer the ability to manage your privacy and data sharing settings. Read our post about how to reduce or stop the amount of data collected from your phone. You’ll find, however, that you won’t be able to use many features unless you are willing to share your data with Google. So, you must pay to play with your personal information.

Apple

Apple is not as data mongering as Google. Much of your data is retained on your phone and kept living on your phone without being sent back to Apple. However, if you use a Google App on your IOS device, you will once again be sending data back to the mama Alphabet.

Biometrics such as the images used in Apple’s Face ID, are also stored on the phone and not sent to Apple or stored on iCloud.

Social Media

Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Twitter and other social media channels collect data about their users. Tracking pixels are used to track your behavior on and off the app.

If you want to see which app is tracking you on your Android phone then open up your smartphone’s setting and look at each app, the permission it has, and what type of information it has access to. This won’t tell you where it is sending the data, but it will give you an idea of what type of data the app is collecting. To see where your data is going, then you will have to read the terms of service and privacy policies of each app.

Of course, that is dependent upon the app creator being honest about what it is accessing. Facebook is under fire now for burying its data harvesting practices in pages of legalese. Uber was caught manipulating data on its app to fool local authorities and monitor employees’ romantic interests.

Location Data

Location tracking is gold as far as data mining goes. Smartphones track as well as how it is oriented – portrait or landscape. If you take a look at your Google Maps timeline, you’ll see that your phone tracked where you were, how fast you traveled, and mode of transportation, Scary, right? This is used by advertising channels like AdWords and Facebook to prove to advertisers that a paid advert was indeed successful. Ye, it can be used to improve your user experience, but it is a revenue generator.

Browsers

Web browsers are the originals when it comes to tracking user behavior. Data tracked by browsers like Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari and others include the web pages visited, purchases, credit card data, and location data.

Even if you are not logged in, the browser can set cookies to store your browsing history and behaviors. Creating an account and logging in each time allows for cross-device tracking and better data. This data is used by advertisers to send you advertisements.

Michelle Dvorak

www.metrony.com/

What is Huawei? China Telecom Giant Explained

2018-12-13 by Michelle Dvorak

What is Huawei – China Telecom Giant Huawei Explained

Huawei is pronounced “Hwa Way”

Huawei is a consumer electronics and telecom company based in China. Huawei is the second largest manufacturer of smartphones in the world. Samsung is the largest producer. Apple is the third largest. Huawei ranks 72nd on the 2018 Fortune Global 500 list with a revenue of over $100 billion US dollars.

Huawei mobile devices, equipment, and service are available in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Consumers can purchase Huawei phones in the United States, but they are harder to find as there are no relationships with major carriers like Verizon and AT&T.

Huawei has faced allegations that its smartphones contain backdoors used by China to monitor conversations and activities of users. Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, is a former engineer in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.

What is Huawei?

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. Chinese consumer electronics and telecommunications equipment company. The company was founded in 1987 in Shenzhen, China in Guangdong Province and sells mobile devices and services in over 170 countries. Huawei products include smartphones, tablets, wearable devices, as well as network services.

China, Huawei, and their History

Ren Zhengfei grew the telecom switching equipment product lines by reverse engineering foreign devices. Huawei grew its business by providing telecom services and equipment to rural areas. Local officials were paid dividends for using Huawei equipment, a practice which is not illegal, but was considered rather questionable. In 1994, Huawei won the contract to build the first national telecommunications network for the People’s Liberation Army.

Huawei launched its wireless GSM-based products in 1991 followed by CDMA and UMTS devices. Huawei expanded to Hong Kong, India, and then Sweden. Today the company sells in over 170 countries. Research & Development (R&D) centers exist in 21 countries including Canada and the United Kingdom. There is an R&D center in the United States as well. However, the major mobile carriers have turned down offers to partner with Huawei for consumer device sales.

The CFO of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, was detained then arrested while changing planes in Canada on December 1, 2018. She was arrested by Canadian authorities at the behest of US authorities. Meng is accused by the US of helping Huawei circumvent UN sanctions against Iran. She allegedly told banking institutions that a Huawei subsidiary was a separate company. Meng is the daughter of founder Ren Zhengfei. She also goes by the names of Sabrina Meng and Cathy Meng, serves as the deputy chairwoman on Huawei’s Board of Directors.

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huawei

Michelle Dvorak

www.metrony.com/

How to Delete Phone Contacts from Rental Car Bluetooth

2018-08-13 by Michelle Dvorak

How to Delete Phone Contacts from Rental Car Bluetooth

How important is it to delete phone contacts from rental car Bluetooth consoles? You need wipe all the contacts, call history, and even location data to preserve your privacy and the personal information of everyone in your phone contacts. In case you didn’t know it, when you connect a smartphone or other device via Bluetooth, the connected device may download your contact list and retain that information. I have a Bluetooth speaker that I connect to my laptop and phone. Obviously, the speaker does not use my contact list. But cars with Bluetooth connection do ask to access your contact list. Once you begin making calls, the car retains your call history and text messages. It also builds a list of favorites and stores all the places you stopped at if you are using the navigation system. Even if you are not using the onboard navigation, the system records the length of your trip in mile traveled and time.

Recently I rented a car and drove it on seven hours each way plus the short hops around town. I wanted to use my phone for calls, music, and texting. I order to make voice calls and have the car respond to text messages, my phone’s contact list must be uploaded to the car’s console. Since this is a rental car, I was concerned about privacy.

The car I rented was a 2018 Toyota Camry SE. It had the Toyota Ensure sound system. When I connected my Samsung via USB to keep it charged for the ride, the system prompted me to download the Toyota Entune app suite to my phone. Since it is not my car and I don’t have subscriptions or accounts with most of the apps listed on the Camry’s center console, I didn’t bother with the app suite. I simply connected via Bluetooth.

I saw that the car had been previously paired with another phone, someone named Keith. I could see all of Keith’s contacts because he did not delete his phone contact from the rental car. Although I could see the contacts, I could no dial or text them. (Yes, I tried to see what would happen). So, if I want to type in the phone number I could have. This is what I was afraid of. It’s not my car, and I didn’t know if I needed admin permission or something like that to destroy data.

Connecting my phone to the rental car via Bluetooth prompted me to upload my contact list. Usually I decline and just use the car for Spotify music. However, in this case, I was going to be driving in New York State where calls must be hands free. I also had a few business calls to make along the way and wanted to try out the Bluetooth ad sound system. So, I allowed to car to beam up my contact list.

I found out quickly that I could not have the car read and respond to SMS messages. I assume I needed that App suite for that. I could, however, receive and place calls for me as well as play music from Spotify. The calling worked great and the sound system was awesome, as I previously stated the texting was a fail. EZ Pass with a rental car was another fail, but that’s different blog post. While I used it, the car built a list of favorite contacts – the people I called the most. It also tracked all the segments of my trip basically recording every location I stopped at. It also had the names and phone numbers of my contacts along with call dates and times.

I wanted to be sure this private data was gone before I turned the rental car in to protect my privacy and that of my friends.

When the rental period was over I had to deal with the issue of deleting my contacts and making sure all my personal information was deleted from the car as well as the names and numbers of everyone in my contact list. It is actually very easy to delete all of your contacts, call history texts (If I had any), favorites list, and location data from a rental car.

Steps to delete the private data from a rental car or any car

– in this case it is a Toyota!

First push the “menu” button to the left of the screen
Next choose “settings” from the screen
Scroll down and press “Delete Persona Data”

The system will warn you that this will delete ALL personal data. Choose yes. Keep in mind this deletes ALL personal data including call history, favorites, calls, text from ALL devices connected via Bluetooth. It is not possible to select only one device or user. This only deleted the private data from the rental car, NOT from your smartphone. That’s it!

Michelle Dvorak

www.metrony.com/

Can Smartphones Get Viruses from Websites?

2018-08-09 by Michelle Dvorak

Can Smartphones Get Computer Viruses from Websites?

With the rapidly growing popularity and use of smartphones, more and more malware and virus have started to make their ways to your devices. While so far there has been no self-replicating malware like PC viruses made its way onto iOs or Android devices, there are other types of malware including spyware, trojan, adware etc, which could infect your phones. If you are confused and wondering whether your phone can get a virus from websites, read further to clarify your doubt. Besides, talking about the ways your smartphone get a virus and possible signs that indicate your phone is infected, we’ll discuss the precautions you should take to keep your device virus free.

How do smartphones get infected with malware or virus?

No, matter how advanced OS you are using, phones are not immune to viruses. You can install malware accidentally by clicking on an innocent looking download link from an unknown source or a pop-up ad on a website. While browsing on the web, you may simply land on a virus-infected site or run into some malicious or compromised links with malware. In most of the cases, you don’t get malware on phone through simple web-browsing unless you are one of the shadiest sites online or unintentionally clicked something suspicious.

Downloading apps or software from unauthorized source:
Downloading software from unverified source is a common way to accidentally infect your device with virus or malware. To encourage downloading of such malicious programmes, hackers target the users with innocently looking apps or software, which are nothing but repackaged icons of trusted apps. Once you install such compromised apps from a third-party app store or any unauthentic site, your phone is at a higher risk of malware intrusion.
Watching porn or surfing illegal sites:
As per a study by Blue Coat, a Web security and Optimization Company, about one-quarter of malware on phones, tabs etc come from adult sites. Watching porn or surfing illegitimate sites on phone may increase the risk of downloading adware and malware onto your devices three times than PC.
Downloading a fake or malicious app:
Despite Google and Apple’s best efforts to keep Play Store or the App Store free from malicious apps, they still make their way into the official app stores. Downloading an infected app makes your smartphone’s OS more susceptible to malware attack. Before downloading a new app from Play store or App store, check for some reviews about the app and find out if the developer has created any good app in the past.
Drive-by downloads:
Drive-by download refers to the inadvertent installation of infected app or software onto your phone or device. While surfing websites from the phone, you may land on a webpage that automatically starts installing malware-infected apps onto your device without your knowledge. Even most of the concerned websites that are giving malware are not even aware of the incident. In some cases, some fun apps, games or mobile antivirus apps are also used to direct the users to unauthorized app stores to download them.
Clicking suspicious download links or in-app ads:
One of the most common ways of getting a virus on your phone is by clicking the malware-infected download links that are inserted as ads into the authentic apps or sites on the web. Once you click on such malicious download link, your device is instantly infected with the malware. The download links can trick the users by featuring a familiar name or icon of popular apps and sites.
E-mail attachments and SMS:
One of the most common and easiest ways of spreading viruses is through e-mail attachments. If an E-mail attachment contains virus or malware in a form of an infected PDF attachment file and you intend to open it on your phone, it ups the chances of your phone being infected with the virus.
In an attempt to steal your personal data or bank info, hackers try to infect your phones with malware by sending an SMS from an unknown source. The message could contain a link that redirects you to a malicious site or attachment.

Sure-fire signs of an Infected Device

Here are some symptoms you need to watch out for to identify that your Android or iOs device is infected with a virus.

Increased data usage: Sudden spike in data usage could be a significant sign of a malware-infected phone. Using the mobile data, the virus on your device constantly performs some intensive background tasks and transmits information to the internet from your phone.
Excess app crashing: If your apps start crashing for no reason, every now and then, your phone could have a virus.
Unwanted Pop-Ups: If dubious advertisements, notifications, unwanted reminders, system warnings and pop-ups are appearing on your device all the time, it is certainly a warning sign that your phone has a virus.
Increased phone bill charges: If mysteriously increasing phone bill charges, especially under the SMS category is annoying you, check the message section to find the cause. If your gadget is infected with a malicious virus, it can use your device to send messages or make calls to premium numbers that can lead to high charges.
Faster Battery drain: Instant darning of a phone’s battery is one of the certain signs of a virus-infected device. If your phone starts running out of battery every now and then, you may want to check for a virus.

How can you keep your phone safe from viruses and malware?

Let’s have a look at some of the sure-fire preventive steps to keep your phone safe from malware and virus.

Remove dubious apps: Check the list of your installed apps and if find anything unfamiliar just uninstall the app and restart your phone.
Use the updated OS version: To ensure safety and faster service for your device, make sure that your phone’s OS is running the latest updates.
Download apps and software from verified source: The best way to ensure safety for your smartphone is to download apps from a reputable source. If downloading app from Play Store, App Store, or Microsoft Store check the ratings and reviews of the app first.
Do not click on pop-up ads: While browsing internet refrain yourself from clicking random pop-up ads that lead you to install malware on your phone.
Be aware of unverified links in SMS and emails: Don’t click any suspicious link or attachment in unknown SMS, emails, WhatsApp messages etc.
A good antivirus app is a must: Install a mobile antivirus app for complete protection from all web-based threats. It scans every app and software before installing it on your device.

By identifying these virus-infected device symptoms early and following these safe practices, you can surely keep your phone safe from such spiteful malware attacks. With a little awareness and precaution, you can keep malware threats at bay.

Michelle Dvorak

www.metrony.com/

How to Destroy a Samsung Galaxy S3 Smartphone with a drill!

2018-07-02 by Michelle Dvorak

How to Destroy Your Phone | Samsung Galaxy | Drill versus phone

Have an old smartphone, but can’t use it anymore because it’s not working well anymore? If you cannot donate it to an e-up-cycling facility then have a little fun testing the limits of the hardware. When it is destroyed, it’s gone. Just make sure the SIM cards and memories cards are destroyed too!

The video shows one of our old Samsung smartphone destroyed by a Craftsman power drill. The Samsung phone was functional and in decent working order except for the broken screen. The Samsung Galaxy S3 is the last of the Galaxy series with a replaceable batter so it was sad to see this phone go. But the battery life was declining and the screen was cracked from a fall. A Second phone drop caused the screen to crack even more, so much that it cut the users’ face when they used it to talk.

The battery is left in the phone the entire time. The Galaxy S3 has power in the beginning of the video, but loses its screen and power as the drill goes in. The drill destroys the Galaxy S3 by going through its screen and into the hardware below it. It takes about two minutes to drill the phone so it is not functional anymore. The drill is repositioned part way through the video so that a second hole can be drilled.

Michelle Dvorak

www.metrony.com/

Chinese Smartphones May Be Banned

2018-02-21 by Michelle Dvorak

Chinese Smartphones May Be Banned

Devices from two Chinese smartphone manufacturers may be spying on Americans. The integrity of Chinese telecom leaders, Huawei and ZTE, is once again coming into question. On Tuesday US security chiefs at attending the Senate Intelligence Committee’s worldwide threats meeting recommended that US lawmakers ban Huawei and ZTE from governmental networks.

The concern is that both companies are loyal.to the Chinese government and have installed software that allows the phone to spy on users. However, no specific accusations were made by lawmakers or committee members.

Sen. Tom Cotton and Senator Marco Rubio have introduced legislation that would ban all equipment manufactured by the companies from government networks. Federal agencies would be banned from buying or leasing any equipment manufactured by Huawei it ZTE.

Major telecom firms have decided not to partner with Huawei in the US. In January 2018, AT&T pulled out of a deal with Huawei citing security concerns raised by the US government. This left Huawei a filter lover at the Computer Electronics Show that took place in Las Vegas earlier this year.

About Huawei

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. is a Chinese multinational networking and telecommunications equipment and services company. It is owned by Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd. And headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong. They tag themselves as “the best smartphones you never heard of.”

About ZTE

ZTE Corporation, commonly shortened to ZTE, is a Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment and systems company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong. Some of their products include manufacturer smartphones, fitness devices, and smart watches.

Last year, Russian security software and research company Kaspersky was booted off all general computers due to snooping concerns. Kaspersky products were believed to be gathering data off of federally owned machines. The technology company’s challenging the ban in court.

Michelle Dvorak

www.metrony.com/

How to Destroy a Smartphone!

2017-12-05 by Michelle Dvorak

How to Destroy a Smartphone – Smartphone versus Sledge Hammer

NEW! How to Destroy a Smartphone – Smartphone versus Sledge Hammer! Watch a Nokia Lumia Smartphone versus a Smartphone get absolutely destroyed by a sledge hammer. Concerned about your right to privacy? Not sure how to dispose of a smartphone and ensure that your data is not hacked? This video shows one very effective way to destroy a smartphone – by beating it with a sled hammer.

We were careful. The glass it taped so it doesn’t go into the grass. Our hammer guy is wearing protective gear and he’s in a well-ventilated spot – outdoors. No components of the smartphone went into the grass or elsewhere either. We’re safe and environmentally conscious.

It’s total destruction!

Askcybersecurity.com is a FREE Cyber Security News Service that is seen Worldwide by IT Professionals.

How to Destroy a USB Flash Drive – Blowtorch Versus USB Drive
https://youtu.be/za2TwHtTIxQ

How to Destroy a Hard Drive – Blowtorch Versus Hard Drive
https://youtu.be/D9nB1iKWuYA

Michelle Dvorak